


Psychology

by PrettyArbitrary



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-21
Updated: 2007-09-21
Packaged: 2017-10-21 05:58:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/221701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrettyArbitrary/pseuds/PrettyArbitrary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A good general, like a chess master, thinks several steps ahead of his opponent. Or, while he's busy escaping, Leo has a brief encounter with Bishop in a hallway. 2003 cartoon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Psychology

His katana lay on the other side of Bishop. Leonardo abandoned them without a qualm as he sprang for the door to the lab. "Go, go, _go_!" His katana were a part of him, but his brothers were a bigger part. He had what he'd come for.

Starting with Mikey, the other turtles turned and followed his lead, leaping out of the lab's wreckage and past him into the hallway. Donny took point without a word. Knowing Bishop would be up again any second, Leo hung back to guard their rear.

So when the steel door slammed down, he was on the wrong side.

Too much momentum to stop. His hands slapped the barrier, taking it like a fall, and he spun as he bounced. Someone was behind him. Leo set his shell to the metal in a defensive stance. Bishop stood about thirty feet down the hallway, Leo's blades in his hands.

Leo could sense that the others had stopped. They'd be trying to get back to him, Donny searching for a panel to get the door open, Raph vibrating with the need for violence. "Go!" he roared. His fist struck the door with a dull _clang_. " _I said go!_ "

Bishop stalked forward, flipping the katana in his left hand so the blade ran back along his forearm. Leonardo could feel his brothers still hovering on the other side of the door, hesitating. There was no way they'd ever leave him. "I'm taking another hallway," he called, feeling the self-loathing coming on. He hated lying, especially to his brothers. "I'll meet up with you outside. Now move, they're coming!"

Almost close enough to strike, Bishop grinned. He knew what Leo was up to. Leo didn't care. The others were off and running, as good as gone. No facility could hold Donatello, and Raph would disassemble anyone who tried to stop them. Secure in the knowledge of his family's safety, Leonardo sank into a fighting stance.

Bishop echoed the movement. "Well. Leonardo." Disgust quivered in Leo's stomach. He hated Bishop knowing about them, hated the way Bishop said their names, like he was laying claim to them or something. The man ignored his discomfort, eyes flickering behind his mirrorshades, taking in the ludicrous situation: him, armed and more experienced, and Leo, back to a wall and weaponless. Amusement in his hoarse voice, he summed it up. "You can't defeat me."

Leonardo, meanwhile, thought about every move he'd seen Bishop make, every option he had for closing in on a man with two swords. He could do it. If he played it right, today he could remove this threat to his brothers, his father and his friends. He felt a corner of his mouth curl up. "You can't defeat _me_ , Bishop," he answered with quiet exultation. "Either I kill you here, or I die trying. Don't believe I won't. One way or the other, I'll make sure there's nothing left to draw them back to you."

Bishop's eyes tightened consideringly. Leo could see him turning the tableau over in his head. Normally, Bishop knew he could take any of the turtles with one hand behind his back. But a ninja on a suicide run? Finally, the agent nodded and straightened slowly. With a jerk of his head toward the open end of the hallway, he tossed Leo's swords away and gracefully stepped aside. An invitation to freedom.

It was Leonardo's turn to eye him speculatively. Bishop smirked at his uncertainty. Then the metal blocking the corridor behind him slid away, and with one final assessing glance, Leo decided not to push his luck. He pivoted and started down the hall at a jog.

"Hey!" He heard Bishop shout behind him, and spun back, just in time to catch the two katana that came whirling through the air toward him. That was a bit over the top, he thought, blinking at his enemy. Bishop simply grinned at him, a malevolent sparkle in his eye that made Leonardo shiver. "Another time, Leonardo, for you and your brothers. After all, I have all the time in the world."


End file.
